No matter how cute your kids are, everyone knows babysitters are in the game for one thing: money. But one mother refused to pay her children's carer—arguing she should be satisfied with ice cream and a "day of fun"—in a series of texts resulting in her launching an offensive expletive at the helper.

The incident unfolded after the babysitter, named Kirsten, asked the mother when she could collect her wage. According to screenshots of the back-and-forth which have now gone viral, first shared by Kirsten's sibling on Reddit, the mother responded: "I wasn't aware payment was involved. You got free ice cream and a day of fun…I'm sorry for the misinterpretation."

When Kirsten reminded the woman she had agreed to pay her $16 an hour, meaning she was owed $128, the mother asked for proof of their conversation. When Kirsten provided a screenshot, she replied "I delete my messages often."

Kirsten then told the mother than while she enjoyed caring for her children she was "doing this for payment. Exclusively." The woman then accused the sitter of being "stuck up" and offered her $20 as a "compromise."

Refusing, the babysitter told the mother she needed the money to pay for textbooks and would accept $100.

"Absolutely not. I wish I didn't have such a stuck up c*** watching my kids. I am going to block you now - please do not contact me again," she replied.

VortexThing, the username which Kirsten's sibling uses on Reddit, told Bored Panda the woman had contacted her on a babysitting website. "She had never met [the woman] before," VortexThing said.

"Beforehand, my sister described her as 'respectful and courteous,' which made it all the weirder that the woman attempted to turn around and scheme her," VortexThing said.

Reddit users shocked by the messages advised Kirsten to take the mother to a small claims court, or to attempt to negotiate with the children's father. After calling his personal phone several times, he answered and was "quite sheepish about the whole thing," VortexThing told Bored Panda.

He agreed to discuss the situation with his wife, but ignored the siblings once again after a while. In an attempt to kick the parents into action, the siblings sent a message threatening to take them to small claims court.

"We have consistently tried to reason and work with you, and it is honestly quite laughable that you are refusing to pay," they wrote in a message seen by Bored Panda.

"You will have to go through legal fees and court proceedings and it will certainly cost you more than what you owe us. So, as soon as you and your wife stop acting like children and face the people you owe money to in person, we may be able to have a reasonable discussion," the letter read.

Just 30 minutes later, the woman unblocked Kirsten and agreed to pay her the money.

File photo: A mother refused to pay her babysitter after she argued the carer should be satisfied with ice-cream and a "day of fun." Getty Images